• Development reaches key milestone ahead of CfD bid
• New plans will see fewer, more efficient turbines installed 15km off Angus coastline in East of Scotland

Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL) has secured consent from the Scottish Government for its alternative wind farm proposal submitted last August. The project reaches this key milestone as it prepares to bid in the third Contract for Difference (CfD) funding allocation round later this month.

The new design for up to 72 turbines is an improved alternative to ICOL’s original consented design (for up to 110 turbines) which was previously secured in 2014. The new proposal sees fewer but taller and higher capacity turbines, significantly improving the efficiency of the wind farm. This reduction, which would also reduce the number of export cables required, provides an opportunity to significantly cut construction time and costs to the end user. The new design, with less infrastructure requirements, also further decreases the risk of potential environmental impacts.

Ben King, Offshore Consents Manager at ICOL, said: “The opportunity to propose an alternative design, which will see significant economic benefits and reduced risk of environmental impacts, is testament to how new technologies are continuing to transform the industry and bring improved benefits to the consumer. Securing approval is a key step forward ahead of our CfD bid and while our previous consent remains valid, the progression of our plans and work over the last few months very much focused around this new design.”

In a further step forward for the project, ICOL is currently conducting the second phase of its offshore site investigation in the Outer Firth of Tay and Firth of Forth following initial works at the end of 2018. The investigation has so far completed geotechnical studies and is expected to finalise a geophysical survey in July, with seabed data informing the next detailed design phase of wind farm.

The development is expected to bring at least £558m and 858 jobs* to the UK economy during construction through the local supply chain. ICOL is currently finalising its assessment for the location of its Operations and Maintenance base at a local port on the East Coast, which will bring further considerable economic benefits to the local area for the duration of the wind farm.

ENDS

*Based on the lowest generating capacity considered in the application. The final design may allow for a greater generating capacity and therefore this would have greater benefits on the economy.